noun / measure word / verb HSK 3
Traditional
pán
plate · dish · tray · to coil · to check · to transfer

Meaning

is a versatile word primarily meaning a flat dish or plate used for serving food. As a measure word, it counts plate-sized portions of food. It can also function as a verb meaning to coil up, wind around, or examine carefully.

Usage

In everyday contexts, most commonly refers to serving dishes or plates of food at meals. As a measure word, it's used with foods served on plates like 一菜 (a plate/dish of food). The verb meanings are less common in casual speech but appear in expressions like 问 (to interrogate) or 腿 (to sit cross-legged).

Examples

  1. 01
    请帮我拿一个干净的子。
    Qǐng bāng gānjìng de pánzi.
    Please help me get a clean plate.
  2. 02
    水饺看起来很好吃。
    Zhè pán shuǐjiǎo kàn qǐlái hěn hǎochī.
    This plate of dumplings looks delicious.

Measure words

  • 一个盘子

Common collocations

  • pán cài
    a plate/dish of food
  • pán zi
    plate, dish
  • pán tuǐ
    to sit cross-legged
  • yìng pán
    hard disk

Origin

The traditional character shows 舟 (boat) as a semantic component, originally representing a basin or shallow vessel, which evolved to mean plate or dish.

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